How Can You Put a Price Tag On A Child?

Many people do not realize how very expensive adoption can be. In most cases, when you tell people how expensive it is they rant and rave about how adoption should be free. I disagree.

I think the adoption process, as long and arduous as it is, has a purpose to genuinely protect the child and to ensure they are going to a family who will love them, care for them, and sacrifice what ever it takes to provide for them.

It's true, you CAN NOT put a price tag on a child. One thing you must realize is that as adoptive parents we are NOT buying a child. We are paying for the process to get the child legally! The process costs money in fees to our government, fees to the government of the country we are adopting from, and fees to the agency helping us to dot all the i's and cross all the t's.

Think about it this way, if adoption wasn't so expensive then many individuals who should NOT have children in their care would obtain them more easily. According to U.S. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that human trafficking has become the second fastest growing criminal industry -just behind drug trafficking- with children accounting for roughly half of all victims. Of the 2,515 cases under investigation in the U.S. in 2010, more than 1,000 involved children. Can you imagine if the adoption process was free how many more children would be taken advantage of!  No, I am thankful that adoption is not free!

Yes, for a family who is definitely not rolling in the dough, this is going to be difficult. Trying to raise money is humbling, very humbling.  But I KNOW it will be worth it.  And one day, my little girl will be confident of how much we love her because of how much we fought to do what was best and that we were willing to pay every penny for the process to be done right!  She will also look back at all of you who were willing to make sacrifices and help us raise money so we could bring her home as quickly as possible.  So, this is my plea, if you have not wanted to contribute financially because you think it's wrong to "pay for a child" then please reconsider and donate to our adoption today!

In addition, for those of you who do not understand the in's and out's of adoption cost;  please keep reading to see a list of typical fees associated with an adoption from China. These are just estimates.  Many agencies can charge more or less than the listed amounts but this seems to be the average. In addition, if you are adopting domestically or even from another country this will look very different. But, for those of you who have never understood why adoption is so expensive I hope this helps.

Charge		Explanation		Apx. Cost
Initial Application		Determine if our family meets the qualifications set by the U.S., China, and the Hague Convention (Including citizenship, age, marital status, income, residency, etc.)		$500.00
Agency Installment 1		Adoption Orientation and Consultation		$3,000.00
		Coordination with Homestudy Agency and Approval
		Dossier Assistance and Review
		Domestic Communication (U.S. government agencies and Chinese embassy)
		Hague and CCCWA (China Center for Childrens Welfare and Adoption) parent training
		Administration Fee (required by law for non-profit charitable organizations)
Home Study		Adoption Orientation and Training		$3,000.00
		Adoption interviews concerning education, employment, family background, relationships, daily life, parenting, neighborhood evaluation, religion/ belief system, and readiness for adoption.
		Multiple home visits/ inspections
		Verification of health assessments, income statements, background checks, autobiographical statements, references, etc.
USCIS Requirements		Fingerprinting and Document Verification		$1,000.00
Dossier		Compilation and verification of adoption petition stating:		$3,000.00
		the parent's intent to adopt,
		birth certificates for all family members living in the household,
		marriage certificate, proof of employment, tax returns,
		proof of residence, proof of health insurance, completed Home Study Care Certificate
		criminal record clearance, driver's licences and passports,
		all educational diplomas, biographical information,
		photographs of the family and home, immunization records,
		health verifications of parents, etc.
CCCWA Fee		Dossier processing		$1,000.00
Agency Installment 2		Translation Part  1 (Homestudy and Dossier documents translated to Chinese)		$3,000.00
		In-China Services (Fees to CCAI staff working in Beijing as our liasion to the CCCWA)
		Child Match Preperation and Coordination
		Trip Training (travel orientation and prepration for appearing before the the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China)
		USCIS (U.S. Citizenship) and Hague monitoring
		International Communication
Travel		Parent Visas and Passports to enter China.		$7,000.00
		Airfare, Travel, Accomidations, and Food
Child's Verification		Adoption Registration and Notarization		$1,000.00
		Child's Passport and US Enrty Visa
		Child's Physical
Orphanage Fee		Fee to Caretakers, Supplies, and previous medical debts		$6,000.00
Beautiful Baby Girl		Our new daughter!		FREE
Agency Installment 3		Translation Part 2 (Documents from the time of the child's referral to post adoption)		$3,000.00
		Securing travel arrangements, flights, and acomidations for trip to China
		CCAI In-China Services (Personal translator and guide during travels to China government offices, consulates, U.S. embassy, and orphanage)
		Assistance with obtaining child immigration and Visa paperwork
		Post Adoption Support
Final Documents		Court Validation Fee		$500.00
		Child's Birth Certificate
TOTAL COST				$32,000.00